Rules Committee advances ordinance requiring labor‑peace agreements for certain excursion‑vessel operators

The San Francisco Rules Committee advanced legislation on Sept. 12 that would require labor‑peace agreements between employers operating excursion vessels under Port leases and the labor organizations seeking to represent their employees.

Sunny Angulo of Supervisor Peskin’s office told the committee the ordinance is designed to protect the city’s proprietary interest by preventing disruptions to tourism and maritime operations. "Meaning essentially a bargaining representative, a process wherein a bargaining representative acts as an alternate, alternative to the formal election...and if they can't agree, they end up going to binding arbitration," Angulo said, explaining that the ordinance includes mediation and arbitration steps and applies to port operators and subcontractors with 40 or more employees under leases entered after the ordinance’s effective date.

Peter Daley, maritime director at the Port of San Francisco, said the Port has reviewed the proposal and can answer technical implementation questions, noting that excursion operations are an important part of the port’s maritime portfolio.

Committee members expressed support for workers and asked to be added as co‑authors; the committee moved the ordinance out to the full Board with a positive recommendation and no objection.

Next steps: the ordinance will be considered by the full Board of Supervisors. The committee asked the Port and city staff to be available to address implementation details.